Federal Highway Administration

Once again, transportation funds that could be used to repair streets, roads and bridges are instead diverted into costly, damaging highway expansion projects. Here's this year's list of the worst of the worst.

President Biden's plan to build a multi-billion dollar network of charging hubs for electric vehicles is misguided, advocates say, because whether the cars are running on fossil fuels or electricity, our nation cannot drive its way out of the climate crisis.

"The lesson here is, Secretary Pete is not going to come in and save the day," said one highway opponent. "And he probably isn’t capable of saving the day."

The Biden administration has caved to GOP pressure and will no longer push states to repair existing highways before building new ones, a move that angered livable cities advocates.

Applying highway design standards to city streets has been a disaster for urban neighborhoods. The same things that make highways safer for driving at 65 mph -- wide lanes, "clear zones" running alongside the road that have no trees or other "obstacles" -- make surface streets dangerous and dreadful for walking, killing street life.

Federal funding for pedestrian and bicycle projects reached a new high last year, according to a report released today by the Federal Highway Administration. In terms of dollars, federal investment in walking and biking more than doubled compared to the previous high, set in 2007, thanks largely to an infusion of $400 million in stimulus funds.

A new month begins today without rules in place to govern federal transportation programs, thanks to an objection by Sen. Jim Bunning (R-KY) to quick approval of a short-term extension of existing law.

Congressional efforts to set national goals for the American transportation system are stalled for now, but the U.S. DOT said today that it is preparing for an eventual transition to a world where performance targets are the norm for transit, roads, bridges, and ports.

Today is the deadline for state DOTs to allocate at least half of the transportation money they received under the economic stimulus law, and Smart Growth America marked the occasion with a study of what types of projects are getting that cash.